Container rinser and sterilizer



Jan. 12, 1937. P. K. GIRTON CONTAINER RINSER AND STERILIZER Eiled Jan. 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 12, 1937. P. K. GIRTON 2,067,838

CONTAINER RINSER AND STERILIZER Filed Jan. 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4;- Fa V ///,I1/IllIl/III/lllllI/1 1 Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED STA'lEs FATENT OFFICE Claims.

The invention relates to apparatus for spraying milk bottles and thelike to rinse and/or sterilize the same. Thebottles or the like are sprayed while in an openwork case, wire basket 5 or the like, and for purpose of description, said openwork case, basket or the like will be hereinafter referred to as a container, and mention will be made of spraying this container. While the real purpose of the particular apparatus disclosed, is to spray the bottles within the container, this container is nevertheless sprayed also. The language selected is not, therefore, entirely inapt and as it would include milk cans and various other containers which could well be sprayed with an apparatus according to the invention, I prefer said language.

It is one of the foremost objects of the invention to provide an apparatus which, with the use of steam under pressure, will draw the rinse water from a well, cistern or other reservoir, effectively heat it, and discharge the hot water under pressure from a spray head. Steam is always available in dairies and on dairy farms for sterilizing purposes, but a great many dairy farms and some rural dairies lack water systems from which the water is discharged under pressure, with the consequence that prior rinsers requiring rinse water under pressure, cannot be used. By means of my invention, however, I overcome this diniculty, at the same time heating the rinse water to an advantageous temperature, approximately 140 to 180 F.

In the present disclosure, I utilize a steam jet pump in the water line from the reservoir to the spray head to elevate or otherwise draw the water, heat it to some extent and discharge it under pressure, and I also employ a steam injector in said line between said jet pump and the spray head to further heat the water and to increase the pressure thereof also, if desired. The chambers of the jet pump and injector, constitute steam and water mixing chambers, and chambers of this character may, of course, be utilized only for heating the water if desired, assuming that the water be available under pressure. The chambers are in series in the waterconducting line and therefore serve to progressively raise the water temperature.

After rinsing with the steam-heated Water under pressure, steam alone should be sprayed into the container for sterilizing purposes, and it is a further object of the invention to make novel provision for accomplishing this end. In doing so, in the present form of construction, a water admission valve and a steam admission valve for the jet pump are closed to end the rinsing operation, but the steam admission valve of the injector is not closed until somewhat later. Thus, the steam entering the injectorwill discharge therefrom into the spray head and into 5 the container after the rinsing operation has terminated, effectively sterilizing said container.

A still further object of the invention is to make novel provision whereby the above mentioned valves are controlled by the containers. 10 In this connection, yet another aim is to provide a construction in which one container being advanced along a guideway toward another container previously advanced to spraying position, effects both starting and stopping of the spray- 5 ing operation. Thus, the container occupying said spraying position may stand fully in said position for the entire duration of the spraying operation, which is not true of rinsers and the like in which movement of a container to rins- 0 ing or spraying position automatically opens the spray valve, and movement of said container from said position, causes closing of said valve. With such arrangements, the spraying operation starts before the container is completely over the spray head and is not fully terminated until after the container has moved partially from said spray head, causing loss of spray and often unnecessarily spraying the attendant.

With the foregoing and minor objects in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the present invention associatedwith a bottle washing machine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the spray head, the jet pump, the injector, the steam and water lines and the valves for said lines.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the parts shown in Fig. 3 to clearly illustrate the travel of the water and steam.

A guideway for the container is mounted overa'water-collecting casing l0, said guideway being shown as consisting of a pair of tracks II and another pair of tracks l2, the tracks of the two pairs being at right angles to each other. The water and steam spray head I3 is located over the box it} under the inner ends of the tracks II and IR.

A water supply line l4 leads to the spray head l3 and includes a steam jet pump .15 and of steam into said steam injector IS in series with each other. The water inlet of the jet pump I5. is shown at l1 and its water outlet at it, and the steam inlet of said jet pump is indicated at L). The water inlet of the injector I6 is shown at 26, the water outlet at 2|, and the steam inlet at 22. The portion of the line H leading from the source of water supply to the pump i5, is connected with the inlet l1, and a portion i i of said line connects the water outlet l8 of said pump with the water inlet 29 of the injector IS. The water outlet 2| of this injector is, in the present disclosure, directly connected with the spray head l3.

The water line Id is provided with aspringclosed water valve 23 in advance of the jet pump i5, said valve 23 having a depressible arm 24 by means of which it may be opened. The arm it is container-operated and this is also true of corresponding arms of the steam valves hereinafter described.

A steam line 25 is connected with the steam inlet IQ of the jet pump i5, said line having a spring-closed steam valve 26 which is provided with a depressible arm 21 by means of which it may be opened. Another steam line 28 is connected with the steam inlet 22 of the in jector l6, said line 28 being provided with a spring-closed valve 29 having a depressible arm 30 by means of which it may be opened. In the present disclosure, the steam lines 25 and 28 receive steam through across connection 3| from a main steam line 32 leading from an appropriate boiler. When the present invention is associated with a bottle washer as herein disclosed, the steam line 32 may extend into the lower portion of the bottle-soaking tank 33 to heat the water therein, said line being provided with an appropriate valve 34 for controlling the discharge tank. If desired, a branch 35 may extend from the steam line 32 to a canspraying device 36fsaid branch being provided with a valve 31. The present invention, however, is not concerned with any heating means for the water in the tank 33, nor with any features of the bottle-washing mechanism 38, nor with the can-spraying means 35, 3E, 31.

In the present disclosure, the three valves 23, 26 and 29 are rigidly connected by an angle metal bar 39 upon which the valve opening arms 24, 21 and 30 are pivotally mounted, the ends of said bar 39 being suitably connected at 49 with the front extremities of the tracks so that said valves 23, 26 and 29 are disposed on a line at right angles to these tracks, the arms 24, 21 and 3|! being normally inclined so that a container C placed upon the front portions of said tracks will depress said arms, and advancing of this container along the tracks to a predetermined extent, will free the arms. The arms 24 and 21 controlling the supply of water and steam to the jet pump l5 are preferably of the same length to be instantaneously released by the advancing container to shut off the supply of water and steam to said jet pump. The arm 35 of the valve 29, however, controlling the sup ply of steam to the injector i6, is longer than the arms 24 and 21 so that said arm holds said valve open for a time after the valves 23 and 26 have closed, supplying steam only to the spray head l3.

In operation, a container C to be cleaned and sterilized is placed upon the tracks H and advanced to a spraying position directly over the sprayhead l3 (see Fig. 2). Another container -tainer is advanced along is then placed upon the tracks H in position to depress the three arms 24, 21 and 30, thereby causing these. arms to open the water valve 23 and the two steam valves 26 and 29 respectively. With valve 26 open, steam under pressure is supplied to the jet pump l5, causing the latter to draw the water from the well or the like through the water line l4 and the open valve 23. The water is heated by contact with the steam and by the condensing of this steam to water within the venturi 4| of the pump l5, and this heated water passes on into the injector it where it encounters a second steam jet from the steam line 28, so that the temperature of the water is further raised, and its pressure increased also, if desired. The steam-pumped water, twice heated by steam, is discharged under pressure from the spray head l3 into the container C to thoroughly rinse the same.

After thisrinsing operation has taken place for an adequate length of time, the second conthe tracks ll until it releases the arms 24 and 21, thereby effecting closing or the water and steam valves 23 and 26 of the jet pump l5, said container, however, being stopped in a position in which it still holds the arm 30 of thesteam valve 29 depressed. The result is that the jet pump l5 ceases to discharge hot water and the injector l6 discharges steam only into the spray head l3 and into the container, to eiiect thorough sterilizing. When steam has been discharged into the container for a proper length of time, the second container is pushed further along the tracks ll to release the arm 3E1, allowing closing, of the steam valve 29 and thereby cutting off the supply of steam to the spray head. It is to be observed that during the'entire spraying of the container over the spray head l3, said container has remained fully in spraying position, the valves for controlling the spray being controlled by the second container on the guideway or tracks behind the container being sprayed. This is desirable over rinsers and the like heretofore provided, in which movement of a container to spraying position opens the spray valve and movement of said container from said spraying position closes the spray valve, for with such arrangements, idle spray escapes from the spray head before the container completely reaches spraying position, and more spray escapes idly from said head as the container is moved from said position, often needlessly spraying the attendant. As soon as the second container has been moved to a position at which it releases the arm 3%, the sprayed container is removed from spraying position by sliding it along the tracks l2, and said second container is then advanced to spraying position over the spray head i3, so that the third container will operate the valves to effect spraying of said second container, etc.

An appropriate hood .2 is preferably provided in position to extend over any container occupying the spraying position, said hood having a vapor escape vent it.

It will be seen from the foregoing that advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention. Moreover, it will be clear that I am not restricted to the exact form of the invention herein disclosed, the disclosure being illustrative rather than limiting. It will be further understood that when the rinser and sterilizer constituting this invention is associated with a bottle washer as herein disclosed, an empty bottle case, basket or the like, may be placed upon the front portions of the tracks I l, resting on the arms 24, 21 and 30, while said case, basket or the like is being filled with washed bottles, the valves 23, 26 and 29 being held open by said case, basket or the like until it is sufliciently moved along the tracks, either before or after completely filling it with the washed bottles. However, when the aforesaid rinser and sterilizer is constructed as a separate unit spaced from the washing machine, the openwork cases, baskets or the like previously filled with washed bottles at said washing machine, will be carried to said rinser and sterilizer and placed one at a time upon the tracks l, and moved in the required manner to control the spraying operations.

I claim:-

1. In a container rinser and sterilizer, a container spray head, water-conducting means leading to said spray head and having a plurality of steam and water mixing chambers in series for successively raising the temperature of the water supplied to the spray head, said water-conducting means being provided with a water valve in advance of the first of said mixing chambers, steam lines leading to said mixing chambers respectively and each having a steam valve, and valve-operating means for simultaneously opening all of said valves to conduct hot water to said spray head, and for holding said steam valve of the last mixing chamber open for a time after all others of said valves have been closed, thereby conducting only steam to said spray head.

2. In a container rinser and sterilizer having a guideway along which to advance the containers, and a container spray head adjacent said guideway for spraying each container while at a predetermined spraying position; waterconducting means leading to said spray head and having a plurality of steam and water mixing chambers in series for successively raising the temperature of the water supplied to said spray head, said water-conducting means being provided with a self-closing water valve in advance of the first of said mixing chambers, said water valve having a movable member whereby it may be opened; steam lines leading to said mixing chambers respectively, each of said steam lines being provided with a self-closing steam valve having a movable member whereby it may be opened; all of said movable members being located adjacent said guideway in position to be simultaneously moved to valve-open position by a container on said guideway to conduct steam-heated water to said spray head; said movable member of the steam valve of the last of said mixing chambers being positioned to be held in valve-open position longer than said movable members of the other valves to finally conduct only steam to said spray head.

3. In a container rinser and sterilizer having a support for the containers, and a container spray head adjacent said support; an injector having a water inlet, a steam inlet and an outlet for the steam-heated water, said outlet being connected with said spray head; a jet pump having a water inlet, a steam inlet, and an outlet for the pumped steam-heated water, said outlet of said jet pump being connected with said water inlet of said injector; a water supply line leading to said water inlet of said jet pump and having a water valve; two steam lines leading to said steam inlets of said injector and jet pump respectively and each having a steam valve; and valve-operating means for opening all three of said valves to spray a container on the support and for closing the steam and water valves of the jet pump lines before closing the steam valve of the injector steam line; whereby the container will be sprayed with Water pumped and twice heated by steam, and will finally be sprayed by steam alone.

4. In a container rinser and sterilizer having a guideway along which to advance thecontainers, and a container spray head adjacent said guideway; an injector having a water inlet, a steam inlet and an outlet for the steamheated water, said outlet being connected with said spray head; a jet pump having a water inlet, a} steam inlet, and an outlet for the pumped steam-heated water, said outlet of said jet pump being connected with said water inlet of said injector; a water supply line leading to said water inlet of said jet pump, said water supply line being provided with a self-closing water valve having a movable member whereby it may be opened; and two steam lines leading to said steam inlets of said injector and jet pump respectively, said steam lines being each provided with a self-closing steam valve having a movable member whereby it may be opened; all three of said movable members being located adjacent the container guideway in position to be simultaneously moved to valve-opening position by a container on said guideway; whereby to effect container spraying with water pumped and twice heated by steam, said movable member of the injector steam line valve being positioned to be held in valve-open position longer than said movable members of the jet pump line valves; whereby to finally spray with steam only.

5. In a container rinser and sterilizer having a guideway along which to advance the containers; means for spraying each container with water while at a predetermined spraying posi' tion, said water spraying means being provided with a self-closing water valve having a movable member whereby it may be opened; and means for spraying each container with steam while at said spraying position, said steam spraying means being provided with a self-closing steam valve having a movable member whereby it may be opened; said movable members being located adjacent said guideway and spaced toward the receiving end of the latter from said spraying position to be moved to valve-open position by one container on the guideway behind another container previously moved to said spraying position, said movable members being so located as to be successively released by said one container as the same is advanced, the movable member of said steam valve being the last to be released.

PAUL K. GIRTON. 

